Container



Feb. 20, 1962 I G. T. TRACY 3,021,976

- CONTAINER Filed Sept. 24, 1959 INV EN TOR.

GE ALD It TRACY BY f United States Patent 3,021,976 CONTAINER Gerald T.Tracy, Chicago, Ill., assignor to National Can Corporation, Chicago,111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 842,155 1Claim. (Cl. 220-66) This invention relates in general to containers and,more particularly, to improvements in containers of the so-called tincan type.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a can in which oneof the end closures thereof is so constructed that a portion thereof maybe severed by a conventional can opener and said portion removed toleave a straight edge at the container opening, whereby the straightedge can be used for such purposes as wiping an applicator brush or forleveling a spoon or measuring cup.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a containerin which one of the end closures has a reclosable plastic plug throughwhich the container may be filled or through which ingredients may beadded to the container subsequent to filling thereof. To accomplishthis, the end closure has a hole that is closed by a plastic collar thatis secured to the end closure over the hole and makes an air-tight sealwith the metal of the closure adjacent the hole and the collar, in turn,having a reclosable plug that forms a hermetic seal across the collar.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a container inwhich the closure plug is transparent so that the-contents of the canmay be viewed once the latter is closed. This is of importance in manycommercial instances. For instance, in the paint industry, the samelabels may be used on different colors of canned paints, the color beingdiscernable through the transparent closure. For this purpose the plugmay be of the reclosable type or may be of a type which is permanentlysecured to the end closure across the hole therein.

The attainment of the above and further objects of the present inventionwill be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a can constructed in accordance with andembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 and showing a portion ofthe top closure removed; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 2 and showing amodified form of the present invention.

Like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the drawings.

Referring now in more detail by reference characters to the drawingwhich illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention, Adesignates a can comprising a body 1 formed by a flat rectangular sheetof metal, such as tin plate, which is shaped into an envelopingcylindrical side wall 2 with the overlapping margins of the sheetsecured together in any desired manner as, for instance, by beingsolder-sealed together. At its lower end the can body 1 has a bottomsheet metal closure disk 3 which is secured at its outer periphery tothe side wall 2 through a conventional annular double seam 4. Similarlysecured to the upper end of the can body 1 is a top sheet metal closuredisk 5 which is joined throughout its entire periphery to the peripheralmetal of the wall 2 by a double seam 6, similar to the seam 4-previously described. Formed in the disk 5 is a frangible score line 7which extends chordwise thereacross and terminates at its opposite endsadjacent the seam 6.

Somewhat centrally thereof the disk 5 is bent axially inwardly a shortdistance and a portion of the metal thereof removed to provide anopening, the metal at the periphery of the opening being turned radiallyoutwardly as an annular curl 8 and forms the wall of a hole 9 in thedisk 5. Mounted on the disk 5 and extending across the hole 9 is atransparent plastic collar 10 which is undercut adjacent to itsperiphery by an annular groove 11 which opens outwardly at the lowerside of the collar 10. The collar 10 is preferably fabricated of acommercially available polyvinyl chloride sold as Firestone PlasticGrade TS536-3 by Firestone Plastics Co., Pottstown, Penna, a division ofFirestone Tire & Rubber Co. The collar 10 is press-fitted on to the disk5 so that the annular curl 8 snaps into the groove 11. The raw metaledge 12 of the curl 8 bites into the softer plastic at the radiallyoutermost portion of the groove 11 to hold the collar 10 snugly andirremovably in place and also to cover completely the raw metal edge.Furthermore, the snug fit of the curl 8 in groove 11 forms an air-tightseal between the collar 10 and disk 5. Adjacent to the groove 11 thecollar 10 is integrally formed with an annular depending reinforcing rib13.

Integrally formed on the collar 10 and extending radially outwardlytherefrom is a hinge-forming strip 14 which is joined to and provides ahinge for a plastic plug 15 having a central projection 16 and a pulltab 17 directly opposite the hinge-forming strip 14. The plug 15 overlies the collar 10. The central projection 16 has a conical groove 18which receives an inner generally conical flange 19 that forms the sidewall of 'a hole 20. The hole 20 is closed by the central projection 16.On its axially inner end the central projection 16 is formed with aradially outwardly extending annular locking lip 21 which overlies thebottom edge 22 of the flange 19 .and retains the plug 15 in place acrossthe hole 20.

The disk 5 and collar 10 with the associated plug 15 may be assembledprior to sealing the disk 5 on to the top of the side wall 2. The cansmay be filled with the desired contents before the disk 5 is seamed tothe can body, or after, in which event the hole 20 may be used as afilling hole. It is sometimes preferable to fill the can before seamingthe cover disk 5 in place, for then the plug 15 may be factory closed.If it is desired later to add ingredients to the can the pull tab 18 maybe lifted upwardly to uncover the hole 20, as shown in broken lines inFIG. 2. Thereafter, the plug 15 can be snapped closed to the positionshown in full lines in FIG. 2 to reseal the can. The locking lip 21 notonly holds the plug 16 in closed position but, due to its resiliency,assists in maintaining a fluid-tight seal across the hole 20.Furthermore, the flange 19 is somewhat resilient and presses against thecentral portion 16 at the groove 18 to further insure a hermetic seal.

A can of the foregoing type is particularly useful wherein it is desiredto fill a number of cans with white paint to which pigments of differentcolors are to be later added. Thus, the cans of white paint are sold inconjunction with pigments of various colors, any one or more of whichmay be added to the paint at about the time of purchase thereof by theuser by simply withdrawing the plug 15 and adding the pigments. Themetal-toplastic seal between the collar 10 and disk 5 remains permanentwhile the plastic-to-plastic seal across the hole 20 between the plug 15and collar 10 is always effected when the plug is closed. Moreover,since the plug and collar are transparent the color of the paint isquickly and easily ascertainable, and it is not necessary to providedifferent labels for the different colors of paint.

It is also possible to make the plug 15 and collar 10 as two separateand disconnected parts. In such case, the collar may be of a plastic,metal, or rubber-like material which is not transparent while the plugmay be fabricated of transparent plastic, for instance, of thecomposition previously described. This arrangement will still permit theobserving of the product in the can through the transparent plug whenthe latter is in place on the collar.

When it is desired to open the can A, the disk 5 is cut or fractured asby a conventional can opener along the fracture path 22' illustrated inbroken lines, FIG. 1 from a to b, these points being at the oppositeends of the frangible score line 7. After this has been done thefractured portion 23 of the disk 5 is bent upwardly along the score line7 causing the disk 5 to break at said score line 7, whereupon thefractured portion 23 can be discarded. The straight edge e left at theremaining portion of the disk 5 can be used for various purposesdepending upon the contents of the can. For example, if paint, paste, orother coatings are in the container, the straight edge can be used forWiping a brush to permit excess liquid to flow back onto the container.Similarly, if powdered ingredients are within the can, the straight edgecan be used for levelling a measuring spoon or measuring cup.

A modified form of closure plug for the disk 5 is shown in FIG. 4. Thisplug may be of thesame composition as the collar 10 previouslydescribed. It has a central web 31 forming a permanent closure for thehole 9'. The plug 10 is placed over the disk 5 so that the curl 8 snapsintothe groove 11 to permanently seal the plug 10' in place on the disk,either before or after the disk has been seamed to the can body. Sincethe plug 10' is transparent it will be apparent that the product thereinmay be easily identified, and, in particular, the color thereof if paintis the product within the can.

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes I have hereinshown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is,however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to theprecise construction herein shown, the same being merely illustrative'ofthe principles of the invention. What is conto form a curl having a rawedge, .a collar of flexible plastic material having a groove forreceiving the curl with the raw edge biting into the collar to lock thecollar onto the disk, said collar having an annular axially extendingflange inwardly of said groove, said flange forming a neck-opening inthe collar, and a plastic replaceable plug mounted on said collar, saidplug having a central projection which fits into and closes and sealsthe neck opening when the plug is in closed position, said plug havingan annular groove for snugly receiving the flange when the projection iswithin the neck opening, a locking lip at one end of the projection forengagement with an end of the flange for retaining the plug in closedposition, at least one of said plug and collar being transparent topermit observation of the interior of the container from the outsidethereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,415,543 Gannon May 9, 1922' 2,061,145 Duffy Nov.,l7, 1936 2,606,586Hill Aug. 12, 1952 2,670,871 Spiess Mar. 2, 1954 2,723,778 Rabak Nov.15, 1955 2,741,396 Lobl Apr. 10, 1956 2,765,094 Ryan Oct. 2, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS 649,559 Great Britain Jan. 31, 1951 1,047,110 GermanyDec. 18, 1958

